PAST THE STAIRWAY

         The inconspicuous brick building had one barely noticeable side door. Above it hung a small white sign, resting on a pipe, sticking straight out as if beckoning passersby to enter. It read “Skylight Studios” in an elegant blue font, which contrasted nicely with the deep red of the bricks. A jumbled mass of branches and Christmas lights outlined the window that framed the top of the white door. And from this cluster hung a slightly deflated blow-up glove, which twirled as the breeze swept past. The door led to a narrow wooden staircase, each step worn smooth by the many who had climbed it before.

         Cassidy knew that if she were to begin to climb it, every few steps the old wood would protest with a loud creak. Cassidy slid her hand along the cracking door frame and rested her head just below the sign. She glanced up. How many times had she climbed this very staircase? Not hazarding a guess, her thoughts turned to the circular banister that jutted out of the left wall. The banister darkened in the places where it had been handled. Lining the banister were small lights, giving off a shimmering glow, which guided people up the steps and away from reality. Cassidy slipped through the entrance and began her ascent. On each step, a number rushed into her head. 

Twenty…

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Twenty-one…

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Twenty-two…

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          Just one step left to go. Cassidy halted, gasping for air. Directly in front of her was a portrait, a familiar portrait of a woman seated in a red armchair with a brown-haired child on her lap, smiling. Cassidy’s mother had spent long dedicated hours working on that picture. Cassidy remembered coming home from school for months, to see her mother bent over her easel, music playing throughout the studio, painted as she swayed her hips to the melody. When the masterpiece was finally finished she insisted on hanging it in the entrance to the studio. It was still there, the first thing anyone would see when they climbed the steps. Twenty-three echoed in her head as Cassidy took the last step into her past.